magic, madness (heaven, sin)
by Tarafina
Summary: A collection of various Bonnie/Damon prompt fills. [3] Damon Salvatore, a Chaos Demon, discusses love, life and death with an angel, Bonnie Bennett. (au)
1. amazonia 1

**title**: magic, madness (heaven, sin)  
><strong>category<strong>: the vampire diaries (tv)  
><strong>genre<strong>: various (humor, romance, drama, action, angst)  
><strong>rating<strong>: various (anywhere from teen to nc-17 to R)  
><strong>ship<strong>: bonnie/damon, probably with a spattering of caroline/stefan  
><strong>summary<strong>: a collection of bamon prompt fills

**[**_**amazonia**_**]**

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Stefan asked, his eyes darting to and fro, in search of what he wasn't quite sure. But entering a land he didn't know guaranteed a certain level of suspicion.

"You heard what Katherine said. You gotta fight power with power. If we want to get that curse off of Elena, we can't just hit up your average witch."

Stefan sighed, his lips pursed. "What makes you think this coven will _see _us, let alone help us?"

Damon offered a smirk. "Pay attention, little brother, I can be _very _charming when I want to be."

Rolling his eyes, he shook his head, his mouth parting to dispute or no doubt point out more flaws in Damon's plans, but, before he could, a sudden whistling noise cut through the air.

"Do you hear that?" Damon asked, his brow furrowed.

Stefan's hand abruptly hit Damon's chest, forcing him to a stop. Good thing too, as an arrow struck the ground in front of their feet.

"That was a warning," a cheerful voice rang out. "Don't make me repeat myself."

Stefan frowned, glancing at Damon briefly, before he called out, "We're not here for trouble… We only want to speak to someone. Please, we come in peace. We're just—"

"You're vampires."

The voice, the same voice, was suddenly coming from a different direction. Stefan and Damon both whirled around, searching the dark forest for any sign of who the voice belonged to.

"Your kind isn't welcome here."

From the left then, and high above, as if carrying down from the trees.

"Yeah?" Damon's eyes narrowed. "And just what _kind _are you?"

There was a rustling noise on their right, but she appeared from the front of the path. A hood was drawn up, her features shadowed, but she was small and lean, her hands on her hips as she stood before them. "Who wants to know?" she queried.

Damon and Stefan shared a look and then turned back to her. "Who's asking?" Damon blustered, raising his chin.

She chuckled, amused by him, and then reached up to tuck her hood back. Soft waves of blonde hair unfurled around her shoulders and bright blue eyes stared between them. Flushed cheeks and a sweet smile met them, the picture of beauty and innocence.

Stefan's eyes widened as he stared at her while Damon looked her over skeptically.

"Listen, Blondie, not that the cloak and dagger stuff isn't three shades of hot, but we have business. So maybe you could point us toward your queen or whatever…?"

Tipping her head, she gave him a considering look. Nodding, she stepped forward. Before they had time to block her, her hands suddenly thrust through their chests, fingers wrapping around their hearts and squeezing. "I am Caroline, warrior of the coven Amazonia, and I _really _don't like nicknames. Especially the kind that are at my expense. _So_, just a suggestion, maybe you should a little… more… _respect_…" With each of her last three words, Caroline squeezed their hearts.

Damon choked, squirming under her hold. He wrapped a hand around her wrist, but no matter how hard he gripped it, she didn't so much as flinch.

"You can keep trying, but you're only embarrassing yourself. I might be a human, but I'm nowhere _near _average."

Rasping out a breath, Stefan struggled to say, "Amazonian witches… legends say they're stronger… than any vampire or werewolf… in existence."

Caroline grinned at him. "Look at you, you did your homework. A-plus."

He nodded his head jerkily. "Please. We're not here to make trouble. My brother… he's hot-headed. But it's only because he's worried."

She looked between them curiously. "Worried enough to go looking for a coven bred to destroy you… Now _that _is worried." Releasing their hearts, she drew her hands back from their chests and wiped the blood off on their shirts, her lip curled in a sneer. "Fine. You have five minutes to tell me why I should put in a good word for you two. Starting with how you found us."

Rubbing a hand over his chest as he tried to catch his breath, Damon gave his head a shake and said, "Katherine Pierce told us where to find you."

Caroline's expression hardened, her teeth gnashing together. "_That _bitch?" She looked between them. "I told her we should've put her down as soon as she came knocking at our door." Chewing her lip, she said, "Katherine's a snake, so that's one strike against you. I'm still waiting on an explanation of what you _need_."

"Help. That's all. We just…" Stefan glanced at Damon and then back to Caroline. "We have a friend, she's been cursed. She… She's the doppelgänger."

Caroline's face went blank then; her chin raised and she looked away. "_Snake_," she muttered, before turning on her heel and stalking away.

"Wait," Stefan called. "Caroline, please, I know you don't know us, but our friend, Elena, she isn't like Katherine. She's _innocent_."

"Isn't that what witches stand for?" Damon added. "Innocence and balance and all of that jazz?"

Caroline reached behind her, taking her bow from her back.

Damon stiffened, watching her hands, and then he looked up at her. "Was that not respectful enough?"

"Idiot," she muttered under her breath, before plucking out an arrow.

She didn't turn to them, however; instead, she took an arrow by its shaft and tipped it up, the arrow head a few inches from her mouth. "_Incendia_." A fire burst forth at the tip, which she blew on gently. As it turned a bright violet color, she notched it to her bow and raised it up, sending it flying through the air, bursting across the sky. One burst became two and then three, and suddenly the pathway in front of them lit up, revealing a wrought iron gate and, further down, a tall, gothic, brick building, the windows lit with an orange glow.

"Well? Are you just going to stand there?" Caroline wondered, hip stuck out impatiently. She turned, placing her bow on her back, and started forward, walking toward the gates that opened with a wave of her hands.

While they shared a skeptical look, their options were limited, and so Damon and Stefan hesitantly followed Caroline through the gates. The path they walked was wide enough for a vehicle and reached to the hulking front doors of the building, both black with a golden knocker laying in wait. A sudden and unexpected crack of lightening lit the sky and piercing laughter followed.

"Oh, don't mind that. We have a few Valkyries staying with us," Caroline dismissed, waving her hand.

"Valkyries," Stefan repeated. "Like, _real _Valkyries?"

"As opposed to the fake kind?" She cocked an eyebrow back at him, half-smiling before she hopped up the stairs in front of her.

"Quit panting after Blondie. We have a job to do, remember?" Damon said, elbowing Stefan in the ribs.

Stefan glared at him. "I'm not panting. I'm curious. It's not every day we're allowed to walk into the home of a coven so old it predates everything we know about vampire history. We're lucky they didn't roast us."

"Speaking of… Why didn't they?" Damon wondered, casting his eyes around suspiciously.

"Well, it's not your spectacular ability to keep your voice down," Caroline said, throwing open the doors of the house and stepping inside. A wave of heat hit them, as if a roaring fire was warming the front foyer. A mixture of female voices could be heard on the floors above; young and old, some arguing, some flirting, some talking about the latest season of Big Brother, etcetera. It was all a little too average and boring for Damon's taste.

Before Caroline got too far inside the foyer, a tall, willowy woman intercepted her, hopping down off the winding steps leading upstairs. "Don't tell me, that was _you _with the light show? What'd you drag home _this _time? Like the stray dog last month didn't leave us with enough problems."

"Hey! I didn't know he had fleas, and he was a perfectly good dog. He just needed a good family," Caroline defended. "Anyway, it's none of your business, _Vicki_. And I wouldn't be pointing fingers about dogs considering you smell like a wet one. Didn't Bonnie tell you to stop playing fetch with werewolves?"

"Hayley hasn't turned," Vicki snapped. "She's free game."

"Does anybody else feel like they just walked into a wiccan sorority house?" Damon whispered out of the side of his mouth. "I volunteer to referee the naked pillow fight."

"Damon," Stefan sighed, exasperated.

"Whatever," Caroline said, pushing past the girl and walking further into the entrance hall. "Where's Bonnie anyway? Katherine left some undesirables on our doorstep."

"Rude," Damon muttered.

Stefan shook his head at him.

"She's in the library. Like she ever goes anywhere else," Vicki answered, crossing the hall and disappearing behind a swinging door that looked like it led into a kitchen.

Sighing, Caroline unhitched her bow and arrow from her back and moved to a closet to stick it inside. She kicked her shoes off too and then looked back at them expectantly.

Damon rolled his eyes. "Really?" At Caroline's crossed arms over her chest, he sighed and removed his shoes, lining them up by the door. Stefan followed suit. "There. Better?"

Caroline nodded and then started down the center hallway. "Follow me."

As she walked ahead of them, Damon took a look around. High arches and wooden beams made up the ceiling. Pictures of various women covered the walls, some dressed as warriors, with paint across their cheeks and bows in their hands, others simply as friends, their arms wrapped around each other as they smiled for the camera. Clearly, the coven was close, a band of sister that helped and relied on each other. As Caroline turned down a new hallway, leading to the dark stained door at the end, the pictures became portraits of individual women. The farther down the hall they went, the newer the portraits became. He checked the tiny name plate on the frames on the very last one curiously.

_Sheila Tituba Bennett  
>"Nature needs balance. It is our duty to keep it."<br>1970 – 2009_

He raised his eyes and looked at the woman who stared back at him, brown curls falling around her face and high, arching eyebrows that screamed 'no nonsense.' Damon imagined that if they'd come asking for help during her reign, she wouldn't have greeted them with open arms. Speaking of… he wondered how the new witch in charge was going to welcome them.

Caroline threw open the library doors and stepped inside, hips swaying and head swiveling. "_Bons_…" she called, "Katherine sent us trouble in the form of cute boys."

"That is her favorite _kind _of trouble," a voice answered.

Damon whistled as he considered the impressive library in front of him. Two storeys high, there were aisles of book stacks on the floor and shelves built into the walls. A winding staircase led to a second floor of bookshelves, while a few rolling ladders allowed for easier reaching. Perched near the top of one, a petite woman stood, returning a few books from her arms to their rightful place. Damon stared for a moment; dark hair spilled down her back and brown pants hugged distractingly long legs. Even from a distance, he could see she was small in stature, with round hips and narrow shoulders.

"Couldn't you just magick them back into place?" Damon wondered.

"We weren't given our abilities so we could become lazy," she answered.

"Good thing I'm not a witch then," he muttered.

"They do make for a good distraction, though." Her voice came much closer then, from right behind him, and Damon blinked as the visage of her on the ladder fizzled away into smoke. He turned to face her, just as tiny as he thought, but with the most stubborn chin he'd ever seen. She stared up at him like _he_ was the short one, and it brought a smirk to his mouth.

"I love that trick," Caroline said enthusiastically.

Damon took in the woman in front of him, who was now giving Caroline a fond smile. Bonnie had warm brown skin, earthy green eyes, and sinful lips. The power radiated off of her in low, simmering waves, not quite a threat, but definitely a warning. He did always have a thing for dangerous women, though.

"You said Katherine sent them?" Bonnie asked, arching an eyebrow before she looked back at the two men. "They do look like her type."

Damon held a hand to his chest in mock-offense. "Excuse you; that was a long time ago. I was a different man, a much more easily manipulated man."

Bonnie sniffed distastefully and circled around them. "Regardless, you're a vampire. I'm sure Caroline gave you the memo; your kind is not welcomed here."

"Yes, well, our _kind_, needs to talk to you. It's important." He turned his body to follow her, briefly distracted by the lingering scent of honey she left behind. Clearing his throat in an attempt to focus, he said, "You've heard about the doppelgänger, right? Your little blonde friend has, so I assume it's public knowledge around here."

"It's not public, but those who need to know _do_." She sent a side-long look toward Caroline, who returned her own grave expression. Taking in a deep breath, Bonnie looked back at the two brothers. "I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt here… Mostly since you risked your lives getting here. So what is it, _exactly_, that you need our help with?"

Damon looked at Stefan, who took a step forward. "We have a friend, her name is Elena Gilbert, and she's Katherine's exact double."

"The Petrova doppelgänger," Bonnie said, nodding. "And?"

"And she's in danger. Klaus, he's an original hybrid, and he wants to use Elena's blood to make more. Klaus is an original vampire, but he's also half werewolf. His mother, Ester, used Petrova blood to bind that side of him. He's broken his curse already, but now he wants to make others like him. If he uses Elena's blood, he can turn werewolves into hybrids; half wolf, half vampire. And he's looking to make an army of them."

"So you think if you take the curse out of her blood, she won't be useful and Claude or whatever will just leave?" Caroline piped up curiously. At their nods, she looked to Bonnie, "It makes sense, but…"

"But taking the curse out of her blood is too dangerous," Bonnie finished.

"Dangerous? For _who?_ Elena's getting turned into a pin cushion and Klaus is raising up an army that might just be able to take on your whole little witchy crew. Stronger than vampires _or _werewolves, right? What about their strength _combined?_"

Bonnie's jaw twitched as she clenched her teeth. "What you're asking me to do is to put my whole coven at risk for your friend. I'm sure she matters to you, and if I could, I would help. But my people have to come first. This coven, these girls, rely on me to make the right choices for them. The Petrova curse was placed on his blood by a very powerful witch."

"We know. That's why Katherine sent us here. She said it was one of _your_ ancestors," Stefan said leadingly.

"Ayana. She used the blood to bind Klaus, I know. Elijah Mikaelson has come to us for help in the past. He was told about the importance of doppelgänger blood centuries ago. And when Klaus began searching for a way to make more of his kind, he came asking questions."

"Elijah knew?" Stefan asked, his lips pursed.

"Elijah loves his brother, but he also knows what it would mean to unleash a whole army of people just like him."

"Then you know how important this is," Damon said, staring at her searchingly. "As long as Elena's in reach, Klaus can use her to make more hybrids."

"As long as Elena is _alive_, you mean." Bonnie quirked her head, looking between them. "Tell me, if you're so worried about the world, why not just turn her?"

After a glance at each other, they didn't reply.

Bonnie stepped toward them then, a sarcastic smile pulling at her lips. "See, the altruistic angle might work on some people, and I'm sure that's what you were hoping would work on me. You want me to be selfless, to sacrifice myself and my coven, so your little doppelgänger can live freely as a human."

"She doesn't want to turn, and we don't want to make her," Stefan admitted.

Bonnie hummed, circling around them thoughtfully. "The allure of the doppelgänger… It does have a certain potency, doesn't it?"

They watched her, brows furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"She naturally attracts people and danger, she always has, right back to the very roots of her: _Amara_."

She walked away from them then, taking a seat at a table stacked with books. Somehow, despite the very general look of the chair, Damon found himself thinking of it more like a throne. Maybe it was just Bonnie; she gave off a certain regal flair.

"So you won't help us then?" Stefan finally sighed, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I didn't say that. I said I won't take the curse off her blood."

"Altruism is good and all, but we fight the good fight for balance, not to be martyrs," Caroline piped up, crossing to take a seat atop the table, her legs swinging beneath her. "Besides, we don't even know this girl and you want us to suck ourselves dry for her? Puh-_lease_. I worked my butt off, and I come from a long line of ass-kicking witches. Sacrifice is reserved for those who deserve it. And if she wanted it so bad, where is _she?_"

"She's safe. For now. We didn't want to risk moving her in case Klaus caught on." Stefan shook his head, looking between the two witches. "We don't want you to sacrifice yourselves, honestly. We just need help and we've run out of options. As far as we can tell, the only ones on the same level as the originals is this coven. So if it takes begging, we'll beg."

"I like the sound of that," Caroline mused, grinning. "Boys are always better on their knees."

"I'm not really the begging type. Although, I could definitely offer up some other form of payment," Damon suggested, smirking down at Bonnie.

She quirked an eyebrow at him and then turned her attention back to Stefan. "Like I said before, I know Elijah personally. If what you're saying is true, then Klaus is working his way up toward a war. He always was too power-hungry for his own good; New Orleans proved that. Elijah made peace with our coven a long time ago, and so far he's kept that peace. But he knows the rules; if he or any of his family upset the balance, we will right it." She shook her head then. "Elena is a problem. You don't want her to turn, but if she's going to live, she can't be within Klaus' reach."

Eyes narrowed, Bonnie turned her head to look up at Caroline, whose mouth parted as she shook her head. "No way, that's like calling those mangy jerks to our front door."

"They won't come here. Klaus doesn't even know where we are." Bonnie pushed up from her seat and started to pace, tapping her fingers over her lips thoughtfully. "We can offer her sanctuary and I'll talk to Elijah myself, tell him that Klaus' pursuit for power can only end one of two ways."

"I know Elijah has a soft spot for you, but don't you think this is asking too much?" Caroline said, shaking her head. "It's his _brother_, Bon."

"You can't kill him anyway. You do that and it'll wipe out everyone from his line," Damon argued. "A line that I, regrettably, am part of."

Bonnie raised an eyebrow back at him.

He clucked his tongue and offered an empty smirk. "Hey, I know you're not a big fan of _my _kind, but I'd really prefer to keep breathing, thanks."

She hummed. "Killing Klaus isn't an option anyway. That would only lead to war with his siblings. Binding him and putting him to rest until he's more reasonable, _that_ might be an option…"

"You could do that?" Stefan asked.

Caroline shrugged. "Sure, if we wanted to. But that's a last resort. Mostly because the Mikaelsons might not have any problem daggering each other every few decades, but they're not too kind to anybody else who tries." She frowned to herself. "Not that I regret trying. Rebekah _totally _had it coming."

Bonnie drew in a deep breath. "She borrowed a _blouse_, Caroline. You really need to let it go."

"Um, more like she _ruined _it! Have you ever tried to get blood out of satin? It doesn't happen."

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Bonnie shook her head. "Look, the best option is to have Elena brought here. She'll be safe here while I sit down with Elijah and, if he's willing, Klaus."

"What makes you so sure that Klaus won't just kill you and storm the castle?" Damon wondered. "He might not know where this place is now, but I'm sure he could ask around. If Katherine's really feeling threatened, she might just tell him to save her own neck."

"Katherine's smart. She won't make an enemy out of this coven. She might make rash decisions and get herself into too much trouble from time to time, but she knows that keeping us as allies is a lot better than making us her enemy."

"Emily Bennett," Stefan murmured suddenly. "She was with Katherine back in 1864… She was an Amazonia witch, isn't she?"

"She was. Katherine came to our coven a long time ago, seeking refuge. We offered it and, when she thought she was safe to go back out into the world, Emily went with her. They were friends."

"Katherine doesn't _have_ friends. We're all just pieces on the chess board that is her life," Damon scoffed sourly.

Bonnie pinned him with lethally sharp eyes. "When you've lived as long as she has, gone through as much as she has, and survived, then we can talk. Until then, the matter is closed."

Damon pursed his lips, but gave a nod anyway. "Not to beat a dead horse, but even if we do get Elena out here, there are still people Klaus could use to his advantage. Little Gilbert, for one, and Donovan for another."

"Donovan?" Caroline asked, her brow furrowed.

"Yeah, Matt Donovan. He and Elena grew up together, best friends, dated for a while, that whole boring story."

Caroline glanced at Bonnie before she asked, "Does he have a sister?"

Damon's forehead wrinkled as he tried to think back. "He did, but she took off to some boarding school a couple years back. Why?"

Pursing her lips, Caroline said, "It wasn't just any boarding school. His sister is Vicki." She rolled her eyes. "You know, she's seen Katherine a couple hundred times, you think she'd mention the uncanny similarity between her and this Elena girl."

"I'm sure she had her reasons," Bonnie defended.

"Whatever. You have to say that, you're the head witch in charge." Caroline crossed her arms rather petulantly. "I can complain about her all I want."

Rubbing her temple, Bonnie sighed, "Now's not the time. We need to focus. If Matt is who we think he is, then he can come here. He has ties to a member of this coven, that makes him a friend."

"What about Jer-bear?" Damon asked.

"If there's nowhere else for him to go and he matters to Elena, then he can come too. _However_…" She looked up at them then, her expression serious. "My loyalty and my concern is for my coven first and foremost. If either Matt or Jeremy put them in danger or act in any way that I deem unfit, _they're out_. And that goes for both of you as well."

"You're letting us stay?" Stefan asked, brows hiked in surprise.

"If what you're saying is true then you'll be in danger too. Until I've finished negotiations with Elijah, you can stay here." She turned her eyes toward Damon. "That means no fresh-feeding. You put one fang out of place and I will _personally_ removeit…"

He held his hand up in defeat. "Deal."

Bonnie nodded shortly and then turned to Caroline. "Would you mind showing them around? And see if you can find Vicki; I'd like to talk to her before any of this happens."

"Sure. I think she's in the kitchen helping make dinner." Pushing off the table, Caroline walked toward the guys. "Tour, anybody?"

Stefan nodded, stepping up to walk with her and offering an arm for her to take.

With a laugh, she hooked her arm with his. "So," she said, as they walked to the door. "You and Elena… Dating or…?"

He smiled at her. "Not dating."

She grinned, looking pleased. "Good."

As they walked out of sight, Damon turned his attention back to Bonnie, who was currently chewing her lip, her brow furrowed as she stared off distantly.

"I'm guessing you're always this serious," he said, watching her.

She looked over at him, not the least bit surprised to see that he hadn't left with the others. "Not always. Just when supernatural war is pawing at my door." She offered a faint smile. "I'm guessing you're _not _generally serious."

"Guilty." He shrugged.

"So. What's different?" She eyed him. "There's a reason you hung around while your brother's out getting hit on by Caroline…"

"Straight to the point, huh?" He nodded. "All right, I really just wanted to ask a question."

To distract herself, Bonnie started gathering up books from the table and stacking them in piles. "I'm listening."

"In the hallway, all of the coven leaders have their portraits hung up, with a nifty little quote and everything..."

"They do. It's respectful, each leader can have their portrait done whenever they like, however they want to be remembered, but they aren't hung until the next coven leader takes over."

"And how does a new leader take up the mantle? Is it like a voting system or…?"

"More often than not though, a leader is chosen by the previous leader, but she can be voted out if the coven doesn't feel like she's doing what's best for the coven. If they're not voted out then, unfortunately, the new leader usually takes over because the last one died…"

"You've only been in power, what, a year, two years?" He looked her over from head to toe. "You're still a kid…"

"I'm twenty, and my grandmother was the leader before me. She was training me long before she died. She knew her time was coming and she knew I would stand in her stead."

"Still, twenty's pretty young…" He cocked his head curiously. "Isn't there anybody, y'know, older and wiser who could do it?"

"We have older witches here, but most of them take sabbaticals. A lot go traveling, meet with other covens, build relationships with them. Year round, this is really more of a school. We train our witches to the best of our abilities, in combat and in magic."

"Right. Combat. Because you're all from some ancient Amazonian bloodline or something, right? That's why you have super strength to go with your witchy juju."

Her mouth twisted in an amused smile. "Something like that."

"Pretty big thing though, coven leader at twenty." He eyed her thoughtfully. "Connections with the originals, diplomacy, probably has a broadsword or two under her bed… Not to mention living with a veritable sorority house of beautiful women. Sounds like you've got it pretty good."

"It's not terrible. Is there a question in there?" she wondered.

His face went serious then. "Why help us? Why bother? I know you're worried about war, even if you aren't willing to risk your life to take the curse off Elena. But if you've got Elijah in your pocket, then you and yours are probably safe from global destruction. So why even let us through the gates? We're vampires. Barbie made it clear; our kind isn't welcome here…"

Bonnie walked toward him, searching his eyes for a long moment. "Grams raised me not just to be a good witch but to be a good person. I don't know Elena. I don't know why you and your brother are so adamant that you'd go to any length to save her. I can postulate on the doppelgänger allure, but maybe it's something more human at play, like plain old genuine concern for your fellow man. I _do_ know that tracking down my coven and having the guts to walk up to my gate, that isn't child's play. Katherine must have warned you before you came, and, given it was Katherine, she probably taunted you. Told you that you wouldn't make it past the front door. Even if you don't like her, and I can tell you don't, you must've believed her."

His jaw ticked. "Maybe a little."

"But you still risked it." She nodded. "I like loyalty, Damon. I respect it. Just make sure that whoever you're giving it to deserves it."

He watched her as she turned and walked away from him. For such a tiny little thing, she sure was fierce.

Before he could say anything more, the door to the library opened, and in walked an unenthused Vicki Donovan. "You rang?" she drawled apathetically.

Bonnie turned to look at her. "Vicki. We need to talk. About your brother, specifically."

The apathy drained from Vicki immediately and concern filled her face. "What about Mattie? Is he okay?"

"Take a seat," Bonnie encouraged, taking her own at the table.

"I'll let you two hatch that out," Damon said, before walking to the doors to give them some privacy. He glanced back as Bonnie reached forward, placing a soothing hand atop Vicki's and giving her a reassuring smile.

He hadn't been so sure when he'd first decided that coming here was an option. It was a last ditch chance at trying to keep Elena alive. They may have had a rocky romantic history, but, in the end, she was his friend. His best friend. And he would do whatever it took to keep her alive. If that meant walking into the lion's den, he'd prepared himself to do just that. But whatever he'd expected, it hadn't been Bonnie Bennett. Strong, resourceful, empathetic and smart; she was more than he could have asked for and exactly what they needed. Fingers crossed it all went according to plan.

* * *

><p><strong>author's note<strong>: _I'm kind of in love with the idea of Bonnie as coven leader and Caroline being her second-in-command. They've got their witch school and all of these amazing ladies learning how to defend the balance. Seriously cool stuff. _

_Anyway, thanks so much for reading! Please leave a review; they're my lifeblood. _

**- Lee | Fina**


	2. amazonia 2

[**Amazonia**]

**II**.

Amazonia was a lot larger in the light of day than it was at night, Damon noticed. Caroline had already told him and Stefan that they were free to roam the grounds, with a teasing, "except the dark forest, which is strictly forbidden."

Stefan, being a sap, instead chose to spend his day with Caroline, who he assured he was _not _mooning over. "She knows a lot about her history. I have a lot of questions and she's willing to share." Stefan pulled on his jacket as he shrugged at Damon, who was sitting at the edge of his bed. They were sharing a room, much to Damon's chagrin, since he felt like a tween instead of a very old vampire who didn't like to share, well, _anything_.

"I'm sure she's _very _willing. Just try not to get us kicked out of here for breaking her poor blonde heart."

Stefan's mouth tilted in amusement. "Who said I'll break it?" He sauntered out of the room then, leaving Damon to roll his eyes.

Staying indoors was not an option, however, especially when he could hear two girls a floor above arguing about who borrowed whose skirt and why it didn't matter because it made the other girl look 'hippy.'

Damon quickly fled the building, making his way outside to see what the big fuss was about. At night, it had seemed there was just a lone building, surrounded by a tall stone wall, with a wrought iron gate at the front. As he started walking around, he realized it was a lot more than that. There was a sprawling garden on the left side of the house, with just about every vegetable and herb he could think of. Considering where they were, and what season it was, he was pretty sure it was being magically maintained to continue growing healthily. He briefly wondered how balanced that was, and then decided one garden couldn't do _that _much damage.

On the right side of the house was an orchard of fruit trees, plump peaches, apples, and pears hung from the branches, ripe and juicy. He plucked a peach and continued walking. At the back of the property, half of it was a dedicated training area, with a track for running, archery stands, a blocked off section where a few girls were fencing, and another where they were practicing their hand to hand combat. On the other side was leisure; a swimming pool, basketball nets, and a baseball diamond. He could just imagine what they were like in the summer, splitting up into baseball teams and having competitions that resulted in ribbons for everyone, because effort mattered more than winning. He snorted to himself and took a large bite of his peach, humming as the juices exploded over his tongue.

"It's come a long way from where it started," a voice piped up at his side.

Damon quirked his head and found a tall black woman, her sun-kissed brown hair pulled up in a high ponytail. She had broad shoulders and toned arms that she kept crossed over her chest. She looked more like an Amazon than the witches he'd met so far, he noticed. She slanted her eyes in his direction, her mouth turned up at one corner. "I'm Lucy. I'm one of the trainers here, and I'm Bonnie's cousin. She told me why you and your brother are here… Katherine's a good friend of mine; she wouldn't have mentioned this place if she wasn't hoping we could help you."

"Katherine and being genuine hasn't been my experience," he said, offering a sarcastic smile.

She laughed, nodding. "She's usually on the defensive, I know. But she always plays her cards just the way she wants them. Which means… if she told you about us, she wanted you to come here. Bonnie knows that, which is why she's willing to give you a chance." Lucy turned to face him properly. "I don't like your kind. Katherine was a rare exception. But I trust Bonnie and she seems to see something in you. That's all I need… _For now_."

Damon nodded shortly. "If it's any consolation, we really didn't come here to screw anything up for you guys. We just needed a little more firepower."

"We have that." Lucy turned back to watch the girls currently grappling, attempting to throw each other down and claim victory. "If what Bonnie says is true, that Klaus might be working toward building an army, then we'll have to be better than ever… This coven builds character, it encourages each witch to be the best individual they can be. Smart, resourceful, strong, and, above all else, kind. There's not a lot of room for kindness when it comes to war. The Amazonia coven was built from the strongest blood, the most powerful witches, and they turned that power into knowledge. They shared it among their sisters and those sisters grew up stronger and stronger, until there was nothing that could match them. They were made to keep the balance between humans, werewolves, and vampires. The Originals might call themselves that, but there were others before them. Others that wanted to rule this world with an iron fist." Lucy looked back at him, her expression cold as stone. "We didn't let them then. We won't let them now."

Damon stared up at her. "It won't be easy. Klaus is… I hate to say it, a lot stronger than anyone I've ever met. Including his siblings."

"He's also arrogant. And with arrogance comes expectation. If he believes he'll win, he doesn't take the precautions to prepare himself." She smirked slyly. "I can work with that."

Humming, he nodded. "So. You're a cousin of Bonnie's?" He raised an eyebrow. "You've obviously got a few years on her, why didn't 'Grams' groom you to take over?"

Lucy shook her head. "To be a leader you have to look at every side of a situation. You have to be every role at the same time; mother, sister, friend, and leader. While our coven encourages all of those things in us, some things stand out more than others. Look at Caroline, she's sweet, friendly, and outgoing. But she's also too straightforward. She has no patience for people wasting her time. She'd rather tell it like it is and let the chips fall where they may. I'm cut from a similar cloth. I don't care for diplomacy. I'm more brute strength than wisdom. Doesn't mean I'm not smart, it just means I know where my strengths lie. Each of these girls are unique, some attributes are just more pronounced than others. Some have all the strength and little power, others have a lot of power and little strength. We balance each other, we work together. Bonnie is different. She can be kind but unbending, smart but humble, soft but strong. Don't get me wrong, she has her faults. She's too self-sacrificing, she hates to be wrong, and she's too stubborn for her own good, but she's still a great leader. Tituba saw that in her; she knew that Bonnie was made for this."

"Doesn't bother you any? You getting looked over for the job?" he wondered, searching her face skeptically.

She laughed, grinning widely. "You kidding? If I was in her shoes, I'd have to deal with all that doppelganger bullshit. Trust me, I had enough when I was traipsing around the States with Katherine. No thanks." She shook her head. "Besides, dealing with the Originals? I don't have the patience, or the inclination. Most of these girls get distracted by all the pretty faces; I couldn't care less. Bonnie at least knows how to play to their egos. If it were up to me, I'd stake them all and put them away somewhere. They can come out when they've learned to stop treating humans like their play toys."

"No love lost there, huh?"

Lucy shrugged. "It's mutual, I'm sure." She cast her eyes toward the girls again and then sighed. "I need to check in on them. Good meeting you, Damon. Try to stay out of trouble. I'd hate to have to kill you."

His mouth twitched and he raised his peach up in cheers.

As she walked off, letting out a sharp whistle to gather the girls in, Damon turned on his heel and continued walking around the property. There were a few girls swimming, while others sunbathed, and two more playing basketball. When the ball veered off its course and landed perfectly through the net, one laughed happily while the other shook her head. "You always cheat! Why do I even play with you?"

Damon chuckled under his breath and continued walking. He spotted Stefan and Caroline taking a walk through the orchard, a happy smile on the pretty blonde's face. His brother, for all that he'd said it was an information gathering walk, looked completely enamored with her. Despite the current situation, Damon couldn't find it in him to be annoyed. His brother had been brooding since birth, if Blondie could bring out a happier side of him, good for her. He deserved a little break after all of this never-ending bullshit. Damon loved Elena, she was his best friend, but saving her ass was exhausting.

Making his way back inside, Damon found himself wandering the lower half of the house. The kitchen was immaculate, pristine white counters with a forest green backsplash, two stovetops, two ovens, a collection of pots and pans hanging above from a rack, a large double sink, a door leading into a walk-in pantry, and at least five colorful aprons hanging from a hook. He snickered a little when he found a broom closet before busying himself seeing what was inside the fridge.

"Hungry?"

He tipped his head back to seek out who was speaking and found a young Asian boy, no older than six. "Didn't know there were any boys allowed in this joint," he noted.

Scrunching up his nose, the boy asked, "Aren't you a boy?"

"Sorry, any _other _boys," he corrected, amused. "Your mom a witch around here, or…?"

He shook his head. "My nana lives here. I'm visiting. What about you?"

"He's visiting too," a familiar voice interrupted. Bonnie stepped into the kitchen and made their way toward them. She smiled down at the little boy and bent so they were face to face. Tucking her hair behind her ears, she said, "I thought you were helping your nana in the garden today. Lyla's missed her gardening buddy."

"I was, but she got too hot and she wanted to nap, so I was coloring, but then I got bored, so I played basketball with Cora and Alixe, but then they started fighting again, 'cause Alixe was cheating. I wanted to go swimming, but Elizabeth and Toni are doing laps and they said they can't watch me. But I'm a big boy, Miss Bonnie, I can watch myself!"

She smiled at him warmly. "I know you are, Bentley. You are _very _big. But sometimes even big boys need help." She put her hands to her knees and stood up. "Right, Damon?"

He glanced at her and then down to Bentley. "Right. You asked why I was here, that's exactly why. I need help and Miss Bonnie here offered it."

Bentley peered up at him curiously. "Do you need floaties too? 'Cause Caroline can teach you how to swim. She taught me and now I can doggy-paddle."

His mouth twitched. "I do have an issue with a dog, but unfortunately it's not swimming-related."

Bonnie rolled her eyes and reached over to give Bentley's shoulder a gentle squeeze. "Why don't you go see what Sue is doing? If you ask her nicely, she might work on her hovering spells with you."

Excitedly, Bentley hopped on spot and then ran toward the door. "Bye Miss Bonnie, bye Damon," he shouted back, pushing open the swinging door.

His hurried footsteps echoed back to them and Damon shook his head, looking back at Bonnie. "Nice set-up you got here."

Bonnie hopped up to sit on the counter, her legs swinging. "The kitchen, or everything?" she wondered.

"Both. The kitchen's a highlight. I could bake a mean ziti in here. Even better, I saw you were growing chili peppers out there, and I'm a master at arrabbiata sauce."

Her eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "Are you offering to cook for the coven, Damon? That's a tall order."

He shrugged. "Maybe after, to show my gratitude."

She hummed, tipping her head. "Is that what you meant when you said you could offer some other way of payment for our services?"

He ducked his head as he laughed, looking up at her from the tops of his eyes. "Can't say it was. Although, wining and dining you is an option, if you're interested."

Bonnie raised an eyebrow, but her lips curled up at the corners. "We'll see." Pushing off the counter, she dropped back to the floor on bare feet, a silver toe ring winking up at him. "Since I have you though, I thought we could discuss how we're going to have Elena brought here. I know you're worried about Klaus finding out, so we'll be careful. It _is_ time sensitive, though. I don't imagine having her go into hiding is putting Klaus at ease much. And if he's noticed you and your brother are missing, he'll start putting the puzzle together."

Damon nodded, and followed her out of the kitchen and down the hall. He paused when he noticed a picture with a grinning Bonnie and Caroline. "You were a cheerleader," he said, her voice full of teasing.

She looked back at him over her shoulder, spotted the picture, and then joined him at his side. Her current smile was much softer, full of fond memories as she gazed as her younger self. "Simpler times, I guess."

"You and Caroline grew up together?"

She nodded. "A lot of the witches that come from here go on to have families. They can always return to the house and they remain a part of the coven, but they make homes elsewhere. Because I was mostly raised by Grams, I was always here. Caroline's mother, Liz, she was… an amazing warrior. She was an elite protector of the coven."

"Like Lucy," he said. She hadn't confirmed it, but he got the sense that was exactly what Lucy would be.

"Yeah, exactly like Lucy. Except, ten years ago, Lucy wasn't fully trained yet and Liz was our first defense. We were having trouble with a werewolf pack that had set down roots in a town nearby and refused to follow the rules. They weren't chaining themselves up at night and the body count was high. Grams tried to talk to their leader, but he was reckless, he thought they should be allowed to roam free. That humans were merely prey and so he shouldn't care about the casualties after a full moon. We couldn't let that happen and when he realized we wouldn't leave them to their business, they decided to attack. Liz was lost in the fight, but not before she put their leader down for good. The other wolves were warned that if they tried it again, Grams would bind them so that every night would feel like a full moon without the benefit of actually turning." She looked up at him, her eyes sad. "They left and it was considered a victory in most respects. But Caroline didn't have a mother anymore, so she was taken under Grams' wing and we grew up together, side by side."

"Like sisters."

"We're all sisters here, everyone in the coven, but… for me, Caroline is my equal, even if she doesn't always see it that way." Bonnie took another moment to gaze at the picture and then turned to continue walking, making her way toward the library once more.

Damon gave one last lingering look at cheerleader Bonnie, before he followed the real thing.

"Where is Elena now?" Bonnie asked as she moved to her chair at the head of the large, wooden table, still stacked with books, though noticeably different ones from the previous night. She raised one leg up, knee against her chest and foot balanced on the edge of her seat.

The doors swung shut behind him gently, a lock echoing as she looked over at him curiously. Damon had known a lot of witches in his time, some were showboats while other only used their powers when necessary. He had no doubts that, young or not, Bonnie was a powerful with. If pushed, he imagined she would put on the kind of show that would leave any vampire quaking in their shoes. The periodic uses she'd shown were all casual, nothing big or distracting, but instinctual things. He wondered what that meant.

Making his way over to her, he said, "She's with a friend. _Alaric_. He was something of a vampire hunter, once upon a time. Kind of tarnishes the reputation when his best friend is a vampire…" He shrugged. "Anyway, he's been Elena's guardian since her aunt died, and her parents before them, both adopted and biological. So he's keeping an eye on her and Little Gilbert; he's got them in a cabin just outside of Mystic Falls."

"And she's been there since you and your brother came here?"

He nodded. "Klaus has been busy training a few of his new hybrids. When he's sure they're ready, he'll start using her to make more."

Bonnie hummed. "And this Alaric, will he need somewhere to stay too?"

Damon winced. "I didn't think about it, but yeah, probably. He'll have a hey-day in here. He's a teacher and history, occult or otherwise, is kind of his thing."

"Some of these books are free for reading, others are only open to coven members."

"Bet you guys have a _ton _of grimoires," he said thoughtfully.

"Our fair share…" She hugged an arm around her raised knee. "How long did it take you to find us?"

"A couple days. We ran into a few dead ends, but Katherine left us some clues and eventually we figured it out."

"So Elena's been hiding out for at least two days…" She frowned. "We'll have to move her tonight."

Surprised, he asked, "You can do it that quickly?"

She nodded. "I'll get Lucy and Caroline on it. Caroline's our best strategist and Lucy will offer cover. Vicki wanted to go because of her brother, but she's emotional, that makes her powers unstable. Caroline and Lucy will pick out who else they want to take with them, one witch per person; including Alaric, that's four, and I imagine you and your brother will want to come along, so make it six."

"What happens after they get here?" he wondered.

"I'll get in contact with Elijah, set up a meeting with him off of coven property. At that point, he'll probably have an idea of what's going on. We'll discuss what can be done moving forward."

"They probably won't be too keen to leave us alone. I've gotta admit, we've tried to kill them more than a few times."

"You understand, Damon, that my coven wants _balance_. That means that the scales won't tip solely in your favor. I'll discuss with Elijah what can be done to make him and his happy. That might mean that you and yours never make another attempt on their lives, _or _ever ask for their help." She frowned, staring at him searchingly then. "I know it must bug you, knowing that they're out there and that they're strong enough to destroy you at any time, but you've just going to have to accept that."

"They leave us alone, I'll leave them alone," he assured, shrugging. "The problem is getting them to agree to that. If you haven't noticed, they really seem to like playing with people… Wasn't that why you destroyed that werewolf pack?"

She pursed her lips at him. "Grams made an example out of a bad leader; the others learned their lesson. There were casualties that I wish were still alive today. I want to discuss this with Elijah, find a way to _avoid _bloodshed, human, vampire, or otherwise."

"What makes you think Elijah will go for it anyway? I know Barbie said he had a soft spot for you, but how big of one?"

"Elijah's always had a healthy respect for witches," she said dismissively. "We need to focus. Have you talked to Alaric about what you're doing here?"

"I told him before we left that we were looking for a way to get the curse off of Elena's blood, but I haven't talked to him about this yet."

"Call him. Don't tell him anything though, just make sure they're packed and ready to go. You never know who's listening."

"Done," he agreed.

Bonnie nodded, leaning back in her seat. With a sigh, she said, "I need to start thinking about what I'm going to say and what I can offer to make this work." Pushing up, she hugged an arm around her waist and started walking a circle as she lost herself in thought.

He watched her move, wondering if she was aware that she was actually hovering a few inches off the floor. "So, out of curiosity, when you're not saving your mortal enemies and their friends, what do you do around here for fun?"

She paused, looking back at him, still raised a good six inches in the air. "Fun?"

"Yeah. You guys ever all go out for a night on the town, or do you generally stay cooped up here?"

"We have a lot here to occupy us," she said, a little defensively. "But yes. We can leave anytime we want."

"Do you?"

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Do I _what?_"

He smiled, slowly. "Do you ever go out, have fun, take off the leadership role and try being young and free?"

"Are you suggesting I'm uptight?" Her eyes narrowed. "Because that's not the best way to get into my good graces."

"I'm not suggesting anything. I'm just wondering if Vicki's right and you never leave the library."

Bonnie sighed, tapping her toe irritably. "I have work to do. Maintaining a coven isn't easy. I have a lot of people relying on me to keep things running smoothly and don't think for a second that you're the only people who have come seeking help or asylum. My duty is to protect and serve this coven and the balance. If that means giving up my weekends, then fine. I'll do that."

"What if it didn't mean that?"

She frowned at him.

"Well, that's your interpretation, right? I mean, sure, being coven leader is probably a full-time job, and you obviously put a lot of work into it. But that doesn't mean you have to put _everything_ in. Why not take the weekends off? Get drunk, go clubbing, pick up a hot vampire to warm your bed for the night…"He wiggled his eyebrows at her. "What's the harm?"

Bonnie let out a little snort and shook her head. "Sounds easy when you put it that way."

He grinned. "I'm an easy kind of guy."

A knock at the door interrupted them then and Bonnie turned. "Yes?"

"It's Care. Stefan wants to talk to you."

Stefan piped up then, "Elena called; she thinks Klaus is getting restless. He's called a few times, she answered before, but now he's starting to wonder why she isn't in town…"

The doors unlocked and opened, letting in Caroline and Stefan, who walked toward them, expressions pinched.

"I've already talked to Lucy," Caroline informed Bonnie. "We can do an extraction tonight, but that might be too long. Malese and Amrita are on grounds and ready to move with us. Stefan told his friends to be packed and ready. If we go now, we can be there in three hours, two if we push it."

Bonnie inhaled deeply and raised her chin. "If you're sure it's doable, and safe…"

Caroline nodded. "It's not ideal, but we can work with this. The others are getting ready. There's no guarantee there'll be a fight, but we want to be prepared just in case."

"If Klaus does want a fight, he'll bring his hybrids." Bonnie stared at Caroline seriously. "Be careful."

Cracking her serious expression, Caroline smiled then. "Don't worry about me. I've got it handled."

Bonnie offered a brief smile before turning her attention to Damon and Stefan. "If you're going, get ready. Rooms will be ready for everyone when you get back."

"Thank you, Bonnie," Stefan said earnestly. "We really appreciate this."

"Thank me when it's over," she said.

Lucy swaggered into the room then, all hips and leather. "Ready?" At their nods, she said, "Care, you're riding with Amrita, I'll ride with Malese."

Caroline stuck out her lower lip then. "Amrita hates me. I want Malese."

"Amrita doesn't hate you, she just prefers the sound of the radio to your voice." Lucy rolled her eyes. "Deal with it. It's only a few hours."

"So says _you_. Malese, at least, likes conversation. You're not the one stuck with whiny country music."

"Then take your pretty boy with you, talk _his _ear off." Lucy turned on her heel. "We're wasting time arguing."

With a sigh, Caroline followed after her. "It's not an argument if you always win."

Lucy smirked at her over her shoulder. "Sure it is, you just suck at it."

Damon looked at his brother. "Good luck with that one."

Stefan merely half-smiled. "You'll like her when you get to know here." He nodded farewell to Bonnie and then walked to the door.

Damon turned to Bonnie as they were left alone once more. "Guess we'll see you in a couple hours. Wish us luck."

"You have four of the strongest witches I know with you, you don't need luck. Just enough common sense to listen to them."

He chuckled under his breath. "I'm going to take that as a blessing for a good trip." He winked at her before he turned and left.

Climbing into the SUV with Lucy and, who he assumed was, Malese, he looked back to see Bonnie standing on the door step, arms crossed over her chest.

He raised his hand and wiggled his fingers in farewell, and smiled when she waved back.

* * *

><p><strong>…<strong>

* * *

><p>The drive back to Mystic Falls was spent distracted, at least for him. Malese and Lucy talked shop; strategy, weaknesses, hybrids, and vampires. Damon mostly stared out the window, wondering if they might just get through this situation unscathed, for once. He hoped so. He was really tired of fighting every day of his life.<p>

When they finally pulled up to the cabin, Stefan's SUV was just ahead of them, parked and waiting.

"Stay behind me," Lucy ordered him. "Keep your head down and don't engage unless they attack you first."

He saluted her rather mockingly, but listened as he hopped out of the truck. Malese, who had the same general build as Lucy, tall and athletic, had her black hair tied back in a French braid that reached down to the small of her back. She had high cheekbones and widely set brown eyes with impossibly long lashes. A spattering of freckles covered her narrow nose and a ring hugged her bottom lip. She carried herself gracefully, with an edge that said she was ready and willing to fight. Damon wondered if her witchy powers matched her obvious physical strength.

The doors opened and closed on the SUV ahead of them and Stefan, Caroline, and Amrita hopped out to walk with them. Amrita was on the shorter side; her hair was shaved down to a brown stubble and her ears were dressed in various piercings. She glanced in their direction and merely tilted her chin in a nod.

The door to the cabin opened, spilling orange light onto the deck, and Alaric stepped out to greet them, raising a hand. "We're ready when you are."

Caroline and Amrita stepped forward, the former holding a bow in her hand, fingers gripped tight around it. Caroline's eyes darted to and fro before she walked up the steps. She looked back to Lucy and gestured with her hand; Lucy nodded back and stayed where she was standing.

"Go inside, help the others," Lucy told him.

Damon glanced at her, perturbed by the demand, but went inside, leaving Lucy and Malese to do whatever it was she was doing.

As soon as he walked inside, Elena was on them. "What's going _on?_ You guys disappear for three days and then show up with four complete strangers!?"

Caroline marched through the room, ignoring her. "You need to get your bags, now. And I need names. We've already decided who's going where."

As the boys started to gather their things, Elena tossed her hands up and stepped in front of Caroline. "No! Not until someone tells me what the hell is going on here."

Caroline glanced at her and then looked past her to Matt. "You're Vicki's brother, right? I've seen pictures of you on her wall."

Matt's brows raised. "You know my sister?"

"I live with her." She rolled her eyes. "She snores loud enough to wake the dead."

He snorted. "Yeah, she does." Her brow furrowed. "Wait, what does that have to do with…?"

"Vicki is a witch," Caroline said, offering little time to get used to the idea. She looked back to Elena then. "So am I and so are my friends. Stefan and Damon came to us because we're you're only chance of getting out from Klaus. Simple enough?"

"But… _How?_"

Impatiently, Caroline rolled her eyes. "Ask your questions on the way. Or, better yet, ask Bonnie your questions. Right now, you four need to get your things and get into the trucks, because tonight is taco night, and I'm not missing out on tacos."

Elena blinked at her rapidly, her brows furrowed, and then looked to Damon.

"She's right. We don't have time. Listen, just trust us, we wouldn't be doing this if we didn't think it was safe. Bonnie's already promised she'll get it figured out. She's invited you, all of you, to stay with them. I know it's confusing right now, but it'll make sense later."

"Well, I'm set. I haven't seen Vicki in three years," Matt said, hauling his bag up and onto his shoulder. "Besides, last I checked, she was at an all-girls boarding school." He grinned lightheartedly.

Jeremy snorted, but followed suit by grabbing up his duffle bag too.

As they moved to the door, Caroline followed them. "We'll put you two with me. No offense, Jeremy, was it? But we need to keep you and Elena separated for safety reasons."

"Because they could use me against her?" he sighed knowingly.

"Family's a weakness, like it or not," she said, shrugging.

As the door swung open and she stepped out, there was a growl from the left.

A shout went out, but it wasn't fast enough. A blur of a body could be seen before Caroline was tackled to the porch, pinned by one of Klaus' hybrids. Snarling and laughing could be heard from the woods as more came from the trees, hopping down off of branches and stalking through the bushes.

The group moved to the porch, and Damon watched, surprised, as Caroline's hand gripped the hybrid's throat tight. A blue glow encompassed her fingers and he could hear the crunch of a larynx breaking beneath her grip. As the hybrid gasped for air, she shoved her other hand through his chest and ripped his heart out. Shoving the body aside, she took Stefan's offered hand and pulled herself up.

Teeth gritted, she turned on her heel to face the others. "You wanna play?" she yelled, grabbing up her bow. "How's fetch sound?" With that, she shot off three arrows and the group watched as they pierced the chests of three separate hybrids, pinning one to a tree while the other two toppled to the ground.

Damon blinked and then glanced back at his brother. "She might grow on me."

Stefan merely grinned before he grabbed up Elena's bag by the door. "We need to move."

"We can't go out there! They'll tear you guys apart," Elena cried, grabbing his arm to stop him.

"I don't know, it looks more like _they're_ getting torn apart," Damon mused, watching idly by the door.

Lucy was in her prime, using both magic and brute strength to battle her enemies. She used a rope made entirely of magical energy to tie a hybrid to a tree while she used another like a whip, wrapping it around a hybrid's neck, giving it a tug to make it snap.

Malese and Amrita were fighting back to back, using each other to push off of, balancing against one another as they threw elaborate kicks and punches, spinning themselves and each other, using one another's body weight to heighten each blow. Finally, they cartwheeled away from each other, back flipping until they landed with Amrita nearest the front porch and Malese by the SUV's, a tire iron in hand that she was swinging at various heads.

"Get your shit, because this is a one chance run," Caroline barked.

"That's everything," Alaric answered, two bags over his arms, one heavy with books and weapons while the other held his clothes. "Think I'll need a stiff drink or three when this is over."

"Make it a bottle," Damon agreed.

Caroline stepped out then and raised her hands up, one still wet with blood. She began chanting, her eyes closed and a sudden gust of wind sent her hair flying. What she was saying, Damon couldn't make out, but a rumble of thunder could be heard growling above. It had been clear skies driving in, so he knew it was probably the warrior witch in front of him.

Caroline's eyes suddenly sprung open, a milky white color instead of their previous blue. She stepped off the stairs and started chanting louder, her chest heaving. The blood on her hand suddenly lifted from her skin and spun in a ribbon of liquid, weaving in and out of her fingers before forming a miniature cyclone at the tip of her forefinger. Damon watched as the hybrids started lifting from the ground. They fell forward as their feet lost purchase and grappled for the forest floor, but they just kept lifting, suspended mid-air, spinning in dizzying circles. And then Caroline threw her hands out abruptly. The blood cyclone suddenly split into little droplets and were thrust left and right. Mimicking them, every hybrid was suddenly flying away from them, as if they'd been magically catapulted in either direction.

"_Move_, now," Lucy yelled, yanking open the SUV doors and waving everybody inside. She grabbed Elena and Alaric by their arms and hustled them toward her SUV while Damon followed after them, hopping into the back.

Caroline stumbled a little as she moved toward her side, and Stefan caught her around the waist.

"She gonna be okay?" Damon wondered.

Lucy glanced back. "That spell is usually a group effort, it'll take a little out of her. But she's strong, and it's taco night, so I'm sure she'll find the energy by the time we get home."

He snorted and hopped inside the truck, taking a seat beside Elena while Alaric took over the back row.

"You bring enough?" Damon asked, eyeing his bags.

"If I knew you were bringing me to the Amazonia coven, I wouldn't have bothered with my books. As it is, I took what I thought I'd need."

Damon shrugged, leaning sideways to see him better. "Bonnie said a lot of the books they had were open for public consumption. So you'll have plenty to keep you busy."

"Okay, _who _is Bonnie?" Elena wondered, staring up at him in confusion. "And what the hell _was _that?"

"An ambush," Lucy said, keeping her eye out the window, searching for oncoming trouble as Malese sped back toward the highway. "Looks like you were right, Klaus was getting suspicious and sent his little minions to track you down."

"How'd you know it was the Amazonia coven?" Damon wondered, looking back at Alaric.

"Are you kidding me? They were one of the first covens I looked into when I started getting interested in the occult. Finding information on them took me _years_, but that didn't make it any less fascinating… Let's just say they're more than a little unique." He cast his eyes up toward the front and then back to Damon. "What I don't get is how _you _managed to convince them to help us. Amazonia witches are about balance, they don't take sides."

"Yeah, so Bonnie keeps drilling into me. I guess they're not _technically_ taking sides. She's going to sit down with Elijah and hash it out. We explained that war was coming if somebody didn't rein in Klaus. He'd been getting a little too hybrid happy and if he keeps it up, they're going to have a lot of trouble keeping things balanced." He frowned. "Now that they really had any trouble back there."

Lucy scoffed. "Those hybrids were new. They're untrained. Give it a few years and some real training and we'll have a serious problem. Which is why we can't let it get that far."

Elena stared at Lucy for a moment before turning to Damon, her brows arched. "_Explain_."

He sighed.

* * *

><p><strong>…<strong>

* * *

><p>They managed to make it back to the house without another incident, but Damon didn't truly relax until the gates closed behind them. Elena had fallen asleep on the way, but she blinked her eyes open as the SUV came to a stop. Hopping out, Damon noticed the chatter inside was coming from one particular area in the house.<p>

"Taco night!" Caroline suddenly cried, hurrying up the stairs and racing inside. "You bitches better have left me some!" Apparently her energy level was back up.

Amused, Stefan trailed after her, and Damon shook his head.

Lucy started up to the house, turning to face the group as she said, "I'll help you get settled and then you can join everyone for dinner."

Just as she was about to go inside, Vicki appeared in the doorway and hopped from the top step to the driveway. "Mattie!" She raced toward him and threw her arms around his neck in a hug.

Letting out an emotional laugh, he gripped her tightly, burying his face against her hair.

Alaric sidled up to Lucy with Jeremy following after him.

Elena, arms crossed, looked to Damon. "I want to talk to this Bonnie. I appreciate that you found her and she's offered her help, but I think I should plead my own case."

He shrugged. "Sure."

Lucy walked inside with Alaric and Jeremy, while Malese and Amrita made their way to where the noise was the loudest. Damon followed after them, an uncomfortable Elena just behind him.

As they walked through a pair of opened doors, they found a long table surrounded by excited, chattering witches of all ages and ethnicities. Plates of food sat in front of them while heaping bowls of lettuce, black beans, tomatoes, shredded cheese, green beans, cilantro, corn, guacamole, sour cream, salsa, and spiced ground beef were spread all over. Platters of taco shells and soft tortillas were prepped and waiting while jugs of water, milk, and juice were also in reach. It was a veritable feast and suddenly Damon understood why the garden was not only so big, but so well taken care of. It had to feed a lot of mouths.

At the head of the table, Bonnie was laughing at something one of the other girls was saying, her smile wide and her eyes bright. For a moment, the noise in the room dulled to a distant roar, and all he could see was her. A tug at his arm reminded him why he was there and he cleared his throat. "Maybe we should wait until after dinner," he suggested.

Elena chewed her lip nervously.

Walking into the dining room from a door connected to the kitchen, Caroline wiped her hands on a dish towel before making her way down the table, Stefan still with her.

Bonnie, spotting her, stood from the table and circled around to meet her. She took Caroline's hands and squeezed before pulling her in for a quick hug. She offered a smile to Stefan then before raising an eyebrow. He nodded his chin to the side and Bonnie turned until her eyes met Damon's over the table. Her attention soon moved downward to Elena.

To Caroline, she said, "Sit, have something to eat. You too, Stefan, if you want. I know it's not your usual choice of food, but I guarantee it's good."

"Thank you."

Making her way around to the other side of the table, Bonnie met Damon and Elena by the doors. "You must be Elena." She held a hand out. "I'm Bonnie."

Elena's brows hiked with surprised. "Oh! I… I wasn't expecting you to be so…"

Bonnie's mouth tilted with amusement. "Young?"

"Yes." Elena winced. "_Sorry!_ I… I didn't mean to offend you."

Shaking her head, Bonnie told her, "It's fine. Trust me, I get that a lot." She paused before adding, "A lot's happened, I'm sure you want to talk…"

"I don't want to interrupt, or bother you, I just… I feel like I should explain myself," Elena sighed.

"Damon and Stefan have done a good job representing you, but it's always better from the source. Plus, if you have questions, I can answer them." She glanced up at Damon and said, "You can eat if you want to. I think Elena and I should talk alone."

He shrugged. "Tacos it is." He watched them as they walked away, offering a reassuring smile to Elena before she was out of sight. With a sigh, he moved to join his brother at the table, making up his plate of tacos as he listened to Caroline tell Stefan about her first time shooting a bow and arrow.

"It's not funny! Lucy didn't talk to me for a week, she swore I did it on purpose, but my aim just sucked." Frowning, she added, "She still hasn't really forgiven me. She says I'm the reason her butt is lopsided."

Stefan chuckled. "How do apologize for shooting someone with an arrow?"

"Well, I was eight at the time, so mostly I just cried…" She shrugged. "Honestly, I'm pretty sure the only reason she stopped yelling at me was because she was sick of hearing me cry."

"Did it work?"

"At the time, yeah. But she still brings it up when she's mad."

"Whose fault is that?" Lucy piped up, taking a seat across from them.

Caroline rolled her eyes. "It was an _accident_. You need to forgive and forget!"

Lucy snorted. "How about I shoot _you_ and we're even."

"No way, my ass is perfect!"

Stefan filled his mouth with taco so he wouldn't have to comment, but Damon sat back, amused. He stacked his hands on his stomach and just let the flow of conversation rush over him. He'd already tried listening in on Bonnie and Elena, but the witch had muffled any sound coming from the library. He would just have to trust them and ask his questions later. For all that he'd been suspicious when first approaching the coven, he found part of him sincerely trusted Bonnie and her band of warrior witches to help them out. In the meantime, he would enjoy the brief break they would have before the inevitable fallout.

* * *

><p><strong>author's note<strong>: _because i suck at leaving things alone, this is now a three-parter, meaning the next update should be the conclusion to this particular prompt before i start adding others. i hope you liked it, because these characters are seriously fun to work with in this au. _

_thanks so much for reading! please do leave a review! _

- **lee | fina**


	3. angels & demons

[**_Angels & Demons_**]

Damon finds her where he often finds her, sitting on the fire escape outside of a run-down apartment building, her legs hanging over the edge, her arms stacked on a wrought iron cross bar with her chin resting atop them. Her eyes are wide as she looks out over the city, taking in the architecture, the voices, the smells and noises, but, most of all, spying on her favorite would-be couple.

He stays in the shadows for a while, blending in, his all black wardrobe helping even while his fair skin are in complete opposition to them. Bonnie wore the same dress she'd been wearing the day she died; a bright blue number with white polka dots and a white belt cinched at her small waist. The blood of that day doesn't stain the fabric; instead her dress is pristine, despite being the only thing she's worn for sixty years. He lucked out on that end; he died in a war he never believed in, wearing a uniform he never wanted to set eyes on again. His boss was kind enough to let him wear whatever he wanted, so he does.

Damon is a Chaos Demon, he thrives on, basically, fucking things up. His one and only job is to incite the humans, and his mere presence, unseen by their eyes, often does the trick. But he can whisper in their ear like the proverbial devil on their shoulder, encouraging their rage and wrath, building up the beauty of power and control until their ultimate downfall. There are many of his kind; some stuck to small crowds while others were attracted to the lure of war, directing people in power to turn the tide of peace in a whole other direction. He's seen his fair share of bloodshed since he died in 1864; sometimes he swears he can taste it.

But it's not chaos he's seeking tonight; instead, it's one of the only beings he's met that's brought him sincere and absolute peace.

"Does the Big Guy know you play Cupid on your downtime?" he wonders, finally stepping out to speak to her.

She doesn't look at him, or even flinch, merely raising an eyebrow. More often than not, she corrects him, telling him that there are many Gods, not one 'All-Seeing' creator. That, by essence, 'the Big Guy' that she works for could be a woman or a genderless floating head for all he knows, and he shouldn't make assumptions just because he was stuck with the embodiment of Satan. She skips the lecture today though and instead says, "That implies I intervene. I prefer to think of it like television; I root from afar, with no personal righting of wrongs."

"Ah, ah, ah," he corrects, wagging his finger. "I saw you trip Blondie last week so she'd fall into whatshisface's arms."

"Still playing at ignorance, Damon?" She raises her head then and looks back at him, her green eyes as sharp as ever. "Do I need to point out the obvious?"

He sighs, long and hard, and walks over to take a seat beside her, adjusting his leather jacket and smoothing out the arms like he has all the time in the world. And really, he does. He's dead. Or, well, kind of. He's a demon, meaning he died and his spirit was sent down to hell where it manifested into a servant of Lucifer. In his opinion, his boss wasn't too bad, sure he had his flaws, mostly in frequently sending his demons out to play havoc with the world, but he also mercilessly tortures some pretty awful people, which makes him all right in Damon's books. Sure, he's not the cream of the crop either, after all he's the one encouraging those terrible people, but he likes to think that humans are inherently wrong, and he's only bringing that awfulness forward so that they get their just desserts in the end. If roasting them over a spit is in the cards for them in their afterlife, who is he not to make it happen?

Turning his attention back to the people Bonnie's spying on, he mutters dismissively, "So he looks a little like my brother. Big whoop."

"You forget I've met him. He, unlike you, got into 'heaven.' And _that_… is an exact mirror of him," Bonnie informs him. "I've heard whispers about the doppelganger."

"Yeah? Well, put 'em to rest. You might need your eyes checked, 'cause this one doesn't have _nearly_ as much forehead as Stephano did."

"He's named after him too. _Stefan_," she tells him, smiling lightly. "He's a good man. _Kind_, warm, gentle-hearted…"

"What are you, ?" He frowns at her, glaring across the way to where he can see his brother's mirror image writing away in a journal, his brow furrowed and his lips pursed. "He's got all of his worst qualities too. Brooding, boring, _total_ buzzkill…"

Bonnie stares knowingly at him from the corner of her eyes.

He glares at her. "_What_?"

"Nothing…" She shrugs. "Does _your _boss know you peek in on Brother 2.0?"

Damon rolls his eyes. "I do not _check in_," he denies. "I just pick up on it whenever I find you out here spying on him, Lucy Lurker."

"It's not him I'm curious about. Although, he is nice to look at," she muses.

He lets out a huff that she kindly ignores.

"I like _her_," she tells him, turning her attention to the apartment right next door to Stefan's.

"Didn't know you were into girls, Judgy." He wiggles his eyebrows at her. "This opens a lot of doors for me… Fantasies I never thought could come true are now a whole lot better."

She doesn't give him the satisfaction of a reaction. It both annoys and turns him on.

"Her name is Caroline. She's sweet on him." Bonnie bites her lip as she smiles. "Sometimes she practices what she'll say to him before she goes over to borrow a cup of sugar or milk or, one time, a light bulb." Her nose wrinkles with amusement. "She's usually confident, but she really likes him, so she flounders a lot. It's cute."

"You weren't kidding. This is like some shitty teen soap opera," he complains.

"Just because you don't enjoy watching them grow doesn't mean I can't," she tells him simply.

An onyx feather floats down to land on his shoulder; she always sheds when she's annoyed with him. She's good at masking it for the most part, but her wings tell him different. They bristle up too, when he strikes a nerve. The best part though, is when they start to move, sending little beats of air against him; that's when she's happy. He can't always see her wings; if he looks at them directly, they disappear from sight, but out of the corner of his eye he can see them, tucked against her back. The feathers she sheds only last for a few seconds before evaporating into a fine black dust that's quick to ride the wind elsewhere. He holds onto them as long as he can; they're as soft as she always looks.

"What's so great about watching them grow old and croak? Every single one of them has a limited lifespan," he reminds her.

"It's what they _do _with that time… or what they don't do." She shakes her head. "Stefan likes her too. He smiles when he hears her music playing and he times his trips to the mailbox to when she goes down to do laundry. He always asks about her mom because he knows she's a sheriff in Caroline's home town and that Caroline worries about her safety. He sits outside on the stoop on Friday nights, because that's the night Caroline always goes out with her friend Elena for drinks, and one time she nearly fell down the stairs, she was so tipsy. So he goes out and waits for her, walks her inside to make sure she's safe. He doesn't tell her though. Doesn't ask her out for coffee or a date, even though he's had a hundred chances. He paces and ridicules himself for not doing it, but he never does. Because he likes her too much and at least if he never asks, he knows there's still a chance."

Damon watches her as she talks, the gentle hope that lines her pretty face.

Bonnie died young. She was just seventeen years old, headstrong and smart, living in a world that spat on her for merely being. She and her sister Sheila were radical thinkers back in the fifties, they joined protests and marched against the indignities forced on their people. Bonnie paid the ultimate price for speaking out; _death_. Damon still remembered how she cried, tears spilling down her cheeks, chaos all around her, her throat raw as she screamed for her sister. She was beaten bloody and left to die in the streets. He hadn't incited that fight; sometime the humans did it all on their own. He'd merely been lured their by the taste of chaos in the air.

Unseen, long dead and in the service of Lucifer by that time, Damon had knelt down beside her, closing her pretty green eyes so she wouldn't have to see the unjust world that still surrounded her. He'd been checking in on her ever since, sometimes from afar and sometimes up close. Bonnie, unlike most, stuck with him.

Unlike him, Bonnie had earned her place in heaven with her heart and her love of others. She earned the wings on her back with her compassion and her loyalty. And, for whatever reason, she let the wayward demon that saw fit to interrupt her life from time to time tag along as he pleased. She never pressured him to be better, not directly anyway, instead she encouraged him to think, to question what he thought and did. That was probably worse. He wondered sometimes, what his boss would think of her. Most flinched under his penetrating gaze, but he imagined Bonnie wouldn't. She'd raise her stubborn little chin up and speak to him as an equal. If he had to pick one person who could stand up to the devil and earn his respect, he thought it'd probably be her.

"Do you miss it?" he wonders, watching her curiously.

"Miss what?"

"Living, being where they are…" He pauses before adding, "Falling in love…"

She looks back at him, searching his face. "Sometimes. I miss my sister and my father. I wish I'd been there when my niece, Abby, was growing up, that I could have told her stories about her mother, how strong and amazing she was. I miss not knowing what happens after death, being able to play ignorant to how short human life is." She turns back to look at the building across from them thoughtfully. "There was a boy that I thought I could love… He was warm and smart and… He used to hold my hand like it was spun glass." She lets out a wistful sigh at the foggy memory. "I miss that."

He hums, his brow furrowed, and watches her a while longer, the wind making her long, brown curls sway. She's the prettiest thing he thinks he's ever seen. He remembers a girl, back when he was alive, but her name escapes him. Her voice and her face have become so distant, and he wonders sometimes if that's just what happens over time, or if it comes with being a demon. Letting go of human emotion has to be part of the starter package. He remembers his brother though, vividly, and, though he's loathe to admit it, this Stefan individual, that must be a distant relative of his, does look exactly like the brother Damon lost some time ago. He remembers his father more in mannerisms and his outright distaste for him. He thinks though, that it's his envy of his brother, his hatred of his father, that allows him to hold onto those things. He knows Bonnie will tell him different, that it's his _love _of Stephano that lets him remember, and no devil can take it from him. Sometimes he lets himself believe that.

"How does it end?" he wonders curiously.

She thinks on it a moment, crossing her feet at the ankle. "Caroline gets up her courage first," she decides. "She's a modern woman. And impatient. She'll ask him to go out for drinks sometime or coffee one afternoon. And he'll agree, act casual about it in front of her and fist pump as soon as she's gone. Caroline will spends hours getting ready, he'll primp and second guess his outfit twice. The date will be awkward at first, but Caroline's nothing if not focused, so she'll find a way to break the ice. They'll talk about work and books and food and friends and music… She'll ask him to dance with her when a good song come on and he'll resist but let her drag him out anyway. They'll dance and their eyes will meet and sparks will fly. It'll be the first step to falling in love. The first of many… They'll date for a year before moving in together, and a few more before he proposes. They'll get married in June and have two children, a dog, and entirely too much debt. But they'll be happy, even when they fight and struggle. They'll grow old and spoil their grandchildren. And after long, amazing lives, they'll finally die. Like all things do, and will, and should."

He frowns then, his eyes narrowing as he looks at her. "Should?"

"What's the point of living if it never ends? What can you learn and do when you know there's no time limit, no race to be the best version of yourself? In order to live, to push themselves, to create something beautiful in the briefest of moments, they have to know that their moment will end."

"Sounds a little depressing, Bon-Bon," he sighs.

"Why?" She looks back at him then. "We know what comes next. Just because they die doesn't mean everything's gone. There's more after. There's us."

"You think Stefan's going to join up with the demons, cause a little havoc?" he snorts.

"Everybody has a dark side," she says with a shrug. "But that's not what I meant… You and I lived, albeit shortly, and we died. But we're not lost to the ether, Damon. We still exist. We still feel pain and love and we still move through this world. Not always seen or felt, but here all the same." Her wings unfold from her back, and he feels the sweet escape of cool wind fluttering against him. "I can still fall in love. I can see the beauty in everything around me. Even the snarky demon with a heart that refuses to beat."

He raps his knuckles against his chest. "It kicks up sometimes… I'm pretty sure it's usually just spicy food that does it, but every once in a while it surprises me."

Bonnie smiles back at him, and a black feather brushes against his cheek. "I think you feel more than you'll ever admit… Maybe you're scared, or maybe you wish you didn't, but there's a reason a Chaos Demon spends so much time with an Angel, and it isn't to discuss human love."

"Maybe a different kind of love then…" he muses. "Of the 'transcends death' variety."

Her head tips curiously as she gazes up at him. "Is that what you think this is?"

He stares at her mouth, lips too full of sin for a heart so pure. "Would you let me if I did?"

She smiles. "Would I let you _love _me?"

"Mmhmm."

Her eyes search his face, as if she might find the answers to all of her questions written in the porcelain plains of him, the high arches and the dark hollows, the curved mouth and the raised eyebrows. His eyes are bright, blue and vibrant where they should be grey and cold. She reaches for him, her fingers gently sweeping down the side of his face. His eyes close in answer and a breath leaves him unsteadily, his body soaking in the tenderness of her touch as if it's been starved of it for centuries. He knows sex and seduction and the potent taste of lust, but love always seemed out of reach to him, and he craves it with the voracity of a man who needs hope as much as he fears it.

"What does love mean to you?" she whispers.

He opens his eyes then and rests them on her stubborn chin for the longest moment, and then they trace the length of her arm and the slope of her shoulder, the curve of her neck. She's so small and fragile, so beautiful and strong, like a tiny bird that soars above, letting the wind take her where it will. She is grace and fire and righteous glory if he's ever seen it. And he wants it. He wants her. He's wanted her since before she could see him, since she still breathed the air and walked the earth and demanded its respect. He's wanted her for sixty years and he's never quite know the how or the why until this moment.

"If I said I didn't know, but I _wanted_ to…" His eyes are guileless as they meet hers, sincere like they've rarely been in life or death. "Would you show me?"

Her thumb strokes along his cheek soothingly; where his skin was cold, bereft of heat, Bonnie's was warm, a heat that sunk into him, leaving a trace of her behind that held on hopefully. And then her hand leaves his face and falls gently to her lap. She says no words, but her palm faces up invitingly. He reaches forward and he takes her hand, not like it's spun glass, but like it's his companion in all ways. Their fingers fold together, united, and when she looks over at him from the corner of her eyes, her mouth curves up happily. He can feel the wind of her wings moving and mirrors her expression.

Across the street, Caroline gathers her courage and knocks on Stefan's door to ask him on a date.

And so love begins.

* * *

><p><strong>author's note<strong>:_ that was fun! ;) _

_i have more of amazonia coming up soon, i just finished this sooner and really wanted to put it up, lest i forget about it. _

_i hope you enjoyed it! thank you for reading!_

-** lee | fina**


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